Colostomy apparatus



'April 11, 1939. R. GRICKS COLOSTOMY APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 20, 1937 INVENTOR Rudoijyh Gr'zicks BY 14mm A'ITORNEY5 WITNESSES Patented Apr. 11, 1939 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE V 'coLos'roMY APPARATUS Rudolph Gricks, New York, N. Y.

- Application April 20, 1937, Serial No. 137,951

3 Claims.

This invention relates to colostomy apparatus and more. particularly to an appliance to be used by patients who havehad a cycostomy, ileostomy, or similar operation performed on their bodies.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for irrigating the colon through an artificial anus in a convenient, efllcient, time-saving and painless manner without the aid of a nurse or attendant.

A furtherobject is to provide an apparatus of the above character having a novel construction of receptacle which permits the use of a catheter which may be projected any desired 18 distance into the colon and supplied with water from any source to thoroughly flush outthe colon and drain into or through the improved receptacle,

A further object is to provide anapparatus of this character having an improved construction of wire frame receiving the upper end of the receptacle, and serving as a coupling between the. same and a beltpositioned around the body of the wearer, said frame being so constructed'as to permit the belt'to slide freely, thus adding to the comfort of the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above character embodying many novel features of construction and com- 80 binations and arrangements of parts, which will be, simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to apply and adjust, and durable 'and eflicient in use.

with these and other objects in view, the in- 36 vention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improved apparatus with the parts in position for irrigating the colon;

Fig. 2 is a broken view in longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but showing a plug replacing the catheter illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal,

section illustrating the lower end of the tubular member constituting the receptacle, showing a capsule in said lower end which constitutes a so closure for the lower end of .the receptacle;

4 isa view in elevation of the wire frame shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

' Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my improved apparatus when my improved cup is employed in- *stead of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2:

Fig. 6 is a view in section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of the wire frame shown in Figs. 5 and 6; and

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the frame and cup. 5'

l0 represents a tubular member which is preferably of soft rubber and which may constitute a receptacle or merely a conduit as' will more fully hereinafter appear. The upper end of this tubular member is rounded or closed, as shown 10 at i I, and an entrance opening [2 is provided in the inner face of said tubular member near its upper end, and an annular flange i3 is provided around the opening 12 and is adapted to rest against the body of the user and comfortably 15 conform to the shape of the body. The lower end of the tubular member l0 may be left open, or it may be closed by a capsule 14, such as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, or the lower end of the tubular member in may be coupled to an .20 extension ill by means of a ring it.

A wire frame, indicated generally by the reference character A, is positioned over the upper portion of the tubular member ill, with a ring ll constituting a part of the frame and located 25 back of the flange 13. This frame A is somewhat elliptical shaped at its upper and lower ends constituting encircling members [8 and IS, the lower member l9 receiving the tubular member l0 and the upper member l8 located over 30 the rounded upper end II. This frame A is provided with a cross wire 20 shaped to form a ring 2| at its center positioned to surround and sup,- port the nipple 24. Cross rods 22 are formed at the sides of the frame and hook-like loops 23 are .35

provided at the upper and lower portions of the frame and spaced'apart and project toward each other for a purpose which will more fully hereinafter appear. The encircling members 18 and I9 encircle the upper part of the tubular mem- 40 ber l0 and act to prevent collapsing thereof.

understood, of course, that the catheter will be connected to any suitable source of water supply.

26 represents a belt which may be positioned around the body of the wearer, and this belt is formed with a ,hook 21 at one end and with a loop 28 at its other end. When my apparatus "is-used as an irrigator, the belt is provided with u loop 28 so that when the extension is on the belt the latter will have hooks at both ends and these hooks are engaged over the wires 22 of the frame to securely hold the device in operative position. When the catheter is removed from the nipple 24, a plug, such as shown at 3i in Fig.2, may be constitutes a modification of the frame A above described, although in most of its essentials it is the same, the principal difference being that instead of providing two hook-like loop members at the upper and lower portions of.the

frame, single loop members 33 are provided at the upper'and lower portions of the frame to receive the belt 26. -.These loop portions 23 or 33 are spaced apart so that the belt may be easily inserted or removed by passage between the loops and'when engaged under the loops the belt is free to slide so as to be comfortable for the user. The cup 32 may, if desired, be filled with absorbent floss or other suitable material (not shown), and is formed with a flange 34 around its entrance opening 35 which corresponds with the flange 13 of. the form above described. 7

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: If the patient needs no attendant and can sit up he dispenses with the use of the extension l and permits the lower end of the tubular member ID to rest in a position to discharge into the bowl of the toilet on which he is sitting, thus the water flowing into the colon to flush the same and discharged from the colon will pass through the tubular member and escape. If the patient is in bed and a nurse is in attendance,

the extension l5, which is of any suitable length, j

of the bed and discharges into a bucket or ,con-

tainer of any sort. During the irrigation water flows into the catheter 25 in nipple 24 and then flows out and passes down into the tubular member It, thus providing a continuous in and out flow of water.

When the irrigating or flushing ended, the operator removes the catheter 25 and inserts the plug 3| into the nipple 24. At the same time he inserts the capsule I4 into the lower end of the tubular member 10, thus said tubular member will constitute a closed receptacle to catch any drainage which may fall thereinto. After the draining operation is ended,

the tubular member Ill is removed and the cup operation is an extension 29 having hooks 30 at opposite 32 is located in the wire frame and positioned as ends. One of these hooks 30 is positioned in the shown in Fig. 5 and as above explained.

While I have illustrated and described what I believe to be preferred embodiments of "my invention, it is obvious that various slight changes may be made with regard to the form and arrangement of parts without departing from my invention, and hence- I donot limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the claims. 1

I'claim:

1. A colostomy apparatus, including a tubular member having an entrance opening in its inner wall adjacent its upper end, a flange around the opening adapted to bear against the wearer's body, a nipple on the. outer wall of the member in line with the center of the entrance opening adapted to permit the passage of a catheter therethrough, a frame located on the upper portion of the tubular member, said frame including a ring surrounding said nipple for supporting the same and encircling members encircling the upper part of said tubular member for preventing the collapse thereof, a belt adapted to be located around the body of the wearer, and hooks on the ends of the belt engaging the frame.

- 2. A colostomy apparatus, including a tubular member having an enlargement at its upper end formed with an entrance opening substantially centrally of. the enlargement, a flange around the opening adapted to bear against the wearer's body, a nipple merging into the outer wall of said enlargement in line with the center of the entrance opening adapted to permit the passage of a catheter therethrough, a frame partly enclosing said enlargement, a belt adapted to be located around the body of the wearer, hooks on the ends of said belt engaging the frame, and a ring for receiving said nipple, said ring being carried by said frame substantially centrally thereof and acting to prevent said enlargement from collapsing.

3. A colostomy apparatus, including a tubular member having an entrance opening in its inner wall adjacent its upper end, a flange around the opening adapted to bear against the wearer's body, a nipple on the outer wall of the member in line with the center of the entrance opening adapted to permit the passage of a catheter therethrough, means for supporting said nipple and at the same time preventing said tubular member from collapsing, a tubular extension, and a coupling ring adapted to couple the extension to the lower end of the tubular member. 

